Learning Indian classical dance

Along with my wife, Sweta (who did her PhD in Compilers and Parallel Programming at UIUC), I am learning Bharatanatyam, one of the most popular and ancient classical dance forms of India. My teacher is Smt. Anine and her website is here. Unfortunately for us, our teacher re-located to Boston. We are yet to being our classes again .

Organic gardening

We've grown organic gardens at our home in Connecticut, and earlier, at the community gardens in the Urbana Park District, Illinois. There is an organic nursery in Connecticut, Gilbertie's , which has a great selection of plants.

Learning Yajurveda

Yajurveda is a part of the Vedas, the ancient texts of India that have been transmitted orally since several thousands of years. The Vedas contain verses that encompass the areas of language, philosophy, religion, science, mathematics, engineering and other matters spanning from the individual to societal. My teacher is Sri Vighneshvara Ghanapathigal from Chennai, India.

Learning Indian classical music

My wife and I are learning Carnatic music, the branch of Indian classical music from the southern parts of India.

Learning Sanskrit

Sanskrit is an ancient Indian classical language that is known for its highly systematic phonological organization, word derivation, grammar ( the production rules for its Context Free Grammar have been encoded thousands of years ago) and the versatility of use. Like classical Latin and Greek, Sanskrit is accented and has rules for the determination of accent and enunciation. Unlike these two languages, Sanskrit is not yet a dead language. It is still spoken in parts of India, works are created in this language and it plays an important role in the religious affairs of Hinduism. Fortunately, the rigor that went into studying and encoding Sanskrit helped preserve nearly all features of it to this day. A study of India cannot be complete without encountering Sanskrit and the copious and profound literature that was created in this language.

Other hobbies

Cooking

I have a strong culinary interest beyond Indian cuisine and spend quite a bit of my leisure in cooking. We try to re-create the vast variety of world cuisines at home. They taste especially good with the produce from our garden.

Poetry

I have great love for poetry and in my spare time I write poems too, mostly in Telugu (my native language) and sometimes in English. I publish these in my blogs: English and Telugu.

Reading

I read history and study religions and mythologies of the world. I enjoy reading historical fiction, and Alexandre Dumas' series of d'Artagnan Romances (a part of which is popular as The Three Musketeers) is one of my favorites. Apart from history and historical fiction, I relish reading the humor and satire of Mark Twain, the wit and twists of O Henry, the gripping narratives of Arthur Conan Doyle (about Sherlock Holmes, of course). In Telugu, my favorites among what I have read are Kanyasulkam and Barrister Parvateesam.